Lord Stuart Rose, the 75-year-old former boss of the British retailer Asda as well as a former chairman for Marks & Spencer, shared his opinion on working from home. He said that it’s creating an entire generation who can’t do “proper work.”
This prompted a response from the 24-year-old CEO and founder of social media agency Socially Speaking, Vicky Owens, who strongly disagreed.
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The ex-boss doesn’t like WFH
The ex-boss Lord Rose told BBC that working from home is creating a generation of individuals incapable of work.
“We are creating a whole generation, and probably a generation beyond that, of people who are used to actually not doing what I call proper work,” he said.
Rose believes productivity drops at home
“I believe that productivity is less good if you work from home,” the ex-boss added, before saying that “your personal development suffers” when you’re working from home.
He also suggested that working from home was negatively related to the state of young people’s mental health today.
A Gen Z CEO thinks otherwise
When asked about his opinion on hybrid working, Lord Rose simply responded, “I think it’s bad.”
However, the 24-year-old founder and CEO of social media agency Socially Speaking, Vicky Owens, disagrees with Rose’s sentiment regarding working from home.
Socially Speaking has big clients
The social media agency prides itself in having big-name clients with Netflix, TikTok, and Vogue among others.
The English founder and CEO responded by stating that “suffering through a long commute to the office” is unrelated to people’s productivity levels.
A hybrid model is more efficient to her
Owens shared that her employees work more efficiently on a hybrid working model as they get to rest at home on the days they aren’t working in office, not losing energy and time in commute.
She also doesn’t force her employees to come into the office if they don’t feel like it that day.
Owens countered Rose’s comments
“I’m not sure why older generations think suffering through a long commute will make you more productive – I can’t believe anyone would say hybrid working is making us lazy,” she wrote.
“Taking the opportunity to rest during work is beneficial – but don’t get that confused with laziness,” she added.
She spoke on behalf of the new generation
“We’re recognizing, as the new generation, what’s going to make the team more productive,” the CEO shared her thought process behind hybrid working.
“For that, we have to think smarter, not harder – and being mindful of employees’ wellbeing is the top priority,” she added.
Owens has been a founder since 2021
The 24-year-old founded her social media agency four years ago when she had been spending hours cold-calling businesses and offering to be their social media strategist.
She has since grown her brand and now handles social media for big names like Netflix and Vogue.
The CEO spoke about mental health struggles
Citing her own struggles with anxiety and panic disorder, the young founder shared that she recognizes taking care of one’s mental health by being in a comfortable environment like the home is just as important as taking care of your physical health.
She shared her personal experience
“When I initially wasn’t well with panic attacks and anxiety, it was good to have the option not to leave the house,” she said, before adding, “Being aware of other people who might struggle with that has been a benefit – I’m not going to force someone to come in.”
The founder also added, “Profit numbers have shown, if you give people that flexibility, time and space – productivity gets higher.”
